Podcast Ep 254: HRLocker’s Crystel Rynne talks about the prevailing trends in HR and how the Clare-born business is helping firms navigate the future.
In this interview, we speak with Crystel Rynne, CEO of HR Locker, about the company’s journey, the future of remote work, and how HR technology is evolving.
Clare-headquartered HR Locker, which founded in 2013 by Adam Coleman, was recently acquired by Invincible Software Holdings (ISH), has become a trusted HR solution, serving more than 1,200 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) primarily in Ireland and the UK.
“The future of HR and work is being led from places you might not expect – including the west of Ireland”
Just weeks later, UK SaaS firm ISH expanded its push into the Irish market with the merger of HR Locker with Cork-based HireHive.
Building an HR tech powerhouse
We asked Rynne about the evolution of HRLocker into the business it is today.
“We originally started as HR Interventions Limited, a HR consultancy company, and then in 2013 we pivoted into HRLocker as HR software. We really took off around 2019-2020. When Covid-19 hit, people turned to us saying, ‘Oh, you’re those guys who talk about remote working.’ We started providing free content on how to manage remote working and staff when everybody was sent home during Covid. This really elevated the company into being able to manage both hybrid and remote workforces.
“2020 and 2021 were really good years for us. We closed a round of funding at the end of 2022, focusing on growth. Our own story is that we are a 100% remote company with employees all over Ireland. It’s important to remember that even though we are remote, many of our customers aren’t, so we need to blend hybrid, remote, and in-office technology solutions.
“At the end of 2024, we were acquired by Invincible Software Holdings (ISH), with a focus on the HR tech space and becoming a leader in the Irish market. We now have over 1,200 companies in Ireland as customers.”
Remote work philosophy
I asked Rynne if the decision to go remote was from day one or was it influenced by the pandemic.
“It was a bit of both. We were originally in Lahinch, so we were remote in terms of being rural, but everybody was hybrid. People were traditionally based around Clare and some in Galway. During Covid, we made the decision to remain 100% remote.
“Our original USP to attract talent was ‘come and move to the west coast of Ireland for a lovely tech job.’ Then all companies started offering remote jobs, so that was no longer unique. We decided to focus on attracting top talent regardless of location, and it’s worked well for us. We work hard at maintaining connection, because remote work can sometimes be lonely.
But with companies like Apple and Google calling people back to the office and closer to home leading business leaders echoing the sentiment, are the days of remote and hybrid working numbered?
“I have an unpopular opinion that we have a generational gap. I look at my kids playing Minecraft and Roblox – they’re so used to being creative online and remote. I think generationally, older workers don’t understand how to be creative online, whereas the generation coming up behind us is naturally fluent in it.
“There’s still this mentality, particularly at C-level, that ‘if you can’t see people, it mustn’t be working’ or ‘I can’t control them.’ That misses the point. You don’t come to work to play politics; you come to work to create.
“I’m against tracking people’s time. I prefer to understand exactly what you need to produce that week, and if you do it, that’s great. I don’t mind if you’re not clocking in from nine to five, because ultimately, I just want the productivity and the actual work at the end of the day.”
Benefits and challenges of remote work
At the core of Rynne’s philosophy on remote work is the reality that modern workplaces enshrine work-life balance.
“Remote working really suits me personally. I can drop my kids off at school and still be at my desk for 9am. We’ve instilled in our company that if someone’s child is sick or they need to go to a doctor’s appointment, that’s fine. In an office setting, people lose a lot of time for these life events because they have to book half days off.
“We’re very flexible, and we get so much back from employees because they’re happy to be flexible with their work. We’re happy once the work is done. People feel satisfied, valued, and trusted, as opposed to showing up just for optics, which is an awful waste of time.”
But it’s not all smooth sailing with remote work. For example, how do you embed a culture in an organisation as well as training up new hires if everyone is working remotely?
“It can be difficult with new hires, especially in sales. Sometimes you learn a lot just by sitting beside somebody and hearing what they say. There’s value in spending time among experienced people – it rubs off on you. You gain experience about handling situations, legal issues, business negotiations, and tactics that don’t come naturally to everyone.
“For remote workers, especially those rurally based, it’s harder to network compared to someone in a city who can just pop along to a meetup. We try to address this by meeting once a quarter in person as an entire company to get to know each other again.
“Another challenge is the confusion around business etiquette. When we had our company gathering with ISH (who acquired us), I had to remind everyone about business casual dress code. From a remote working perspective, I make sure to get dressed properly in work attire because I’m meeting customers online all day.”
Growth and acquisition
Given the recent acquisitions of HRLocker and HireHive, I ask Rynne about the vision for growing this HR cluster of businesses. She explained that the very scenario of the acquisitions is a testament to the purpose of HRLocker’s platform.
“From a HRLocker perspective, our core focus is HR and time and attendance – managing employee data and time tracking. HireHive, which ISH purchased, has a better applicant tracking system than what we had developed. The focus is looking at technology developed specifically for certain functions and plugging that into HR Locker to give customers the best product.
“Companies go through ebbs and flows – maybe recruiting, laying people off, or expanding to new jurisdictions. Your HR platform needs to grow with you. Sometimes you need an applicant tracking system; other times, as you grow from 20 to 80 people, you might want to focus more on employee engagement or retention.
“ISH is looking at companies that complement what we’re doing to be best in class. We work with a wide array of companies in Ireland – from Monday to Friday office workers to construction companies and care homes. It’s an exciting time as we focus on making our product tick all boxes for compliance and ease of use while expanding our reach.”
Future of HR tech
So what are ISH’s ambitions, is it becoming something of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) or a kind of SaaS Swiss Army knife for businesses?
“ISH has also acquired companies in Belgium and the Netherlands that are applicant tracking systems looking to expand into the HR space,” she explained. “From our perspective, we’re growing the group with a focus on the SME market, which is really underserved. Companies like SAP or Workday charge 10 times our cost. Companies with around 600 to 700 employees automatically think they need to go to these enterprise solutions.
“We’ve had conversations with companies about deployment where they say, ‘There’s a whole team here and it’s going to take a year and a half.’ That’s crazy. The SaaS model hasn’t really been adopted by those 500+ employee companies yet. We’re trying to move to that level and show that you don’t need on-site servers anymore.
“The main reason we lose clients is when they’re acquired by bigger companies that mandate centralised systems. But I think time is on our side as younger generations expect immediate technology delivery, like an app.
“Where we want to get to is becoming modularised – able to grow with companies regardless of size, offering either select modules or a full suite. HR is probably the last business function that hasn’t fully embraced digital transformation, often because finance drives IT decisions: ‘We’re taking on SAP for finance, and there’s a bit of an HR module there too.’”
So what’s next in the realm of HR technology. According to Rynne, the future is analytics and insights.
“From an HR perspective, HR managers or directors are often the only people coming to the board without numbers. Finance and operations come with numbers, while HR says ‘everybody’s happy.’ We need to ensure HR comes with numbers too, showing that investing in DE&I, systems, or remote working changes the bottom line through cost savings or productivity improvements.
“I think that’s the next step for HR – changing the mindset that HR isn’t just an admin or operational task. There’s so much changing in HR – gender pay gap reporting, sick leave policies, auto-enrolment – and technology needs to keep pace with these changes while demonstrating business value.”
Employees are often caught between a hammer an anvil when it comes to remote and hybrid working. Many have gotten used to the regime that was ushered in because of the pandemic. However, as more employers are calling for presenteeism and optics, the question is whether the days of remote working are numbers.
Rynne doesn’t think so. “I can’t understand why people don’t think remote working is going to stay. There are huge benefits – yes, we don’t pay for an office, but more importantly, we offer flexibility for employees who are more engaged and enjoy working for us. They’re able to adapt their lifestyle while being productive. Engaged, happy employees take ownership of their roles and do their best work.
“What I like to show people is that you don’t have to move to a big city to get a big job. You can make it happen from a rural place,” she concluded.
“I spend time in Dublin because I have to, but it’s nice to come home to a rural lifestyle. The future of HR and work is being led from places you might not expect – including the west of Ireland.”
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